Skirt fastening and supporting device.



No. 632,920. Patented Sept. I2, I899. A. B. FOULKE.

SKIRT FASTENING AND SUPPORTING DEVICE.

(Appliration filed. June 1, 1897.)

(N0 Model.)

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I as :0. Puma-urns. wAsnmarou n c NlTEl) STATES PATENT Fries.

AMELIA R. FOULKE, on NEW YORK, N.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 632,920, dated September 12, 1899.

Application filed June 1, 1897, Serial No. 638,961. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMELIA R. FOULKE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skirt Fastening and Supporting Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates .to fastening and supporting devices designed for convenience in connecting the waistband of a skirt at the placket and supporting said skirt by connecting it to the waist.

This device is adapted for fastening and supporting skirts to waists at the back, so that the two parts or ends of the skirt-band will be joined together and both joined to the band of the waist, it being desirable to so join the parts that they can be readily attached, but cannot be separated by accident, and it also being desirable to so construct the fastening device that it may lie flat and not show through the belt which is usually worn around the waist.

My device is composed of three pieces adapted to mutually interlock byhooks or any suitable equivalent, so that when assembled together each piece is connected to the other two. Thus if one hook becomes accidentally unfastened any given piece will still remain connected to one of the others and through the agency of the second piece will continue to be connected to the third.

The principal objects, th6I8fOl6,'Of my invention are, first, to prevent the unhooking of the device, and, second, to prevent the complete separation of the garments in case the device should become partly unhooked.

The object is also to provide a device which will not become unhooked by the longitudinal contracting eifect of the belt which is usually worn outside of the waist.

Anotherimportant object is to provide a device which Will firmly suspend the skirt at the placket or central opening at the back of the skirt and which will hold up the vertical edges of the placket where the principal strain comes and keep it properly closed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents an elevation of the device applied to portions of connected garments; Fig. 2, a vertical section at :0 00, Fig.

1; and Fig. 3 shows the reverse side of the parts of the device, the same being separated.

A represents the waist-garment, and B C represent the respective sides of a skirt to be connected at the placket D.

b 0 represent the ends of the skirt-waistband.

E F G represent the three interlocking pieces of the fastening and supporting device, the part E being secured to the waist A by means of a tape H or otherwise, F G being respectively secured to the portions B C of the skirt.

As the simplest and most convenient connectin g means I illustrate hooks 1 2 3, adapted to enter and engage with eyes 4 5 6, although other forms of couplings may be used to carry out the principle of my invention.

In use the parts F G are first coupled to-. gether, thus fastening the skirt, and the part E is then connected to F and G, thereby supporting the skirt from the waist A. Should any one of the hooks 1 2 3 through inadvertence remain disengaged,'the other two will suffice to retain the three pieces E F G together in substantially their proper relation and prevent the falling or separation of the.

skirt. For instance, if the hook'l is disconnected the hook 2 will serve to support the coupled parts F G, or the hook 1 will serve the same purpose if the hook 2 is disengaged. If the hook 3 is disengaged, the parts F G, both being supported by the part E, will be re-' tained by the hooks 1 2. WVhen all the hooks 1 2 3 are properly connected, none of the parts can disengage. When the device is covered by the usual belt of the wearer, the engagement of the parts E F G is rendered still further secure.

The plates E F G being being made flat are invisible under the belt. Thus the device may be inconspicuously worn and may be e11- tirely concealed.v

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A device for closing and supporting a skirt, consisting in three interlocking pieces having suitable coupling formations, said pieces being attached one to the waist, the other two to the skirt, so arranged that the skirt-pieces may interlock with each other and with the waist-piece, said pieces being adapted to be secured to the waist and skirt respectively, substantially as described.

2. In a skirt fastening and supporting device, the combination of a single top plate adapted for attachment to a waist-garment and two bottom plates adapted for attachment to the respective ends of a skirt-band; coupling formations adapted to connect each bottom plate respectively with said top plate, coupling formations adapted to connect said bottom plates together and to resist the horizontal movement of the bottom plates with reference to the top plate.

3. In a skirt fastening and supporting device, the combination of two bottom plates respectively connected to the ends of the skirt-band and means of coupling said plates together, and a top plate and means of connecting the same to said bottom plates independently, and a strap connecting the top plate with the waist-garment at a point above the skirt-band.

Signed in the city, county, and State of New York this 27th day of May, A. D. 1897.

AMELIA R. FOULKE.

Witnesses:

ANNA MOORE, HENRY F. PARKER. 

